When you think about it, most of us do celebrate it, in our own ways. This year, we have been celebrating mostly with food (our very favorite way to commemorate occasion). Cooking and eating some old favorites and trying a few new recipes, too.
Banana bread has always been a favorite, but it was taken to another level after a friend told me what she recently ordered at a diner: banana bread toasted with butter and powdered sugar sprinkled on top (!). So we baked a loaf, using our preferred recipe, thickly sliced it, slathered it with butter and sifted the sugar onto it and, wow. The sugar dissolves into the melted butter, becoming something reminiscent of frosting (which is always good for breakfast. My mother would be proud—and I am being completely serious). This may be a fantastic new tradition for us—ringing in the new year with some good ol' sugar coated bread.Wishing you a peaceful new year!
A thousand thanks for stopping by this little place and commenting. This blog has been a wonderful avenue of artistic expression and you, the readers, have motivated and inspired me to continue on a creative path. I look forward to sharing so much more in the new year. Best wishes for the new decade!
(From left: Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and Yoda)
These two are our favorite, by far. Leia's hair was a bit of a challenge for me and, as you can see, her buns are two very different sizes, heh. Little Yoda is just too much with that robe.
Han and Luke are ready to take on the dark side. Or snuggle up with a little girl. They're good like that, and will gladly do either. 
The nearly two feet of beautiful snow we got last week was washed away by Christmas rain, leaving the neighborhood looking less than magical. The girls have noticed how ugly everything looks when the last mounds of snow that remain are gray from dirt, sand, and exhaust. But there's snow in the forecast, so we look forward to having our world covered with that glittery powder again.
We burned the midnight oil last week making gifts, fueled by our tight deadline. I'll be showing you those things, along with some items we received, over the next few days.
It was quite a scene trying to get all the tops spinning for this photo but, alas, there were always a few that got away—spun right off the table, or fell over soon after launching.
A handful of those homemade beauties at rest. I love the variety of shapes and sizes.
And one atop a gift, on it's way to a special little one.
A gorgeous paper luminary (look at the details on the moon!). Sunlight shines through it radiantly in front of the window and glowing candlelight flickers through it nicely. Our partner, Lesli, told me this was made from kite paper and I needed to know more, so she kindly directed me 
A beautiful art card, made by local (to our partner) artist, Shelia DeJohn. This photo does not do the print justice. And look at the tree branch holder they sent to display it in! (in a funny misinterpretation, we originally put the paper luminary in this holder. After Lesli mentioned that the holder was for the card, we realized that made much more sense.)
She also made these adorable stuffed stars, and very generously included one for each of my girls. Made from pure wool felt , Leslie stuffed them with local wool that she cleverly sourced. She started by calling her local yarn shops, and eventually found a farm in the area. She and her son had a nice field trip to the farm, where they met the sheep and llamas, and were invited back in the spring to see the lambs. 
The stars have little pockets sewn onto the back of them. A tiny treasure was tucked inside each pocket— an agate and a piece of sea glass from the Oregon coast.
A bunch of mint hanging to dry in our kitchen is a familiar sight. We have jars and jars of the dried herb stashed for the winter.
It's a good thing that the girls' favorite tea is "minty" tea.
I recalled a simple recipe for mint candy, and figured this was the perfect use for the last leaves left out back. Start with a good bunch of mint leaves, washed and dried.
Next, dip them in egg white then in granulated sugar. Let the leaves dry for about a day on parchment.
Candied mint leaves are thin, sweet, and surprisingly crispy. This delicate treat couldn't be easier to make—the hardest part is waiting for them to dry. 
A 
Crocheted holiday lights (pattern 
A few 
We also included a gorgeous walnut sliding dovetail box, made by our 
...and we topped the box off with a bunch of treasures from our 
Suspend strings (roughly 6 inches long) from pencils and lay them over the tops of the glasses. We also put wooden skewers in the glasses to see which would work better.
Let it stand for a couple of days. This photo was taken after one day and you can see the crystals beginning to form on the string and skewer.
Two days later, the surface of the sugar water had completely hardened. 
After three days, we removed the strings and skewers. We picked the crystals off the strings, and let all the candy harden for a day on wax paper. The skewers came out looking like those pops I remember, though they were quite a bit skinnier. They also had more crystals on them when we first took them out, but little mouths made short work of that candy before I could snap a picture. 
The last of the autumn-themed projects—delicious and simple 
..And the first of the Christmas crafts, 
A couple of lanterns made from old jam jars. Just water down some glue and paint it over torn pieces of tissue paper to stick it right onto the glass. We tied string around the tops and took a few lantern walks around the neighborhood. Now that it gets dark around 4pm, we can do that before dinner. (We even played night hide-and-seek in the back yard, using the lanterns to light our way. Fun!)
We tried to show gratitude for the birds yesterday, by giving them a special treat to peck at. Should have known this little guy was going to sabotage the whole thing. And so, we are thankful for the squirrels, too, and for the amazing show of acrobatics this one performed to get to the pine cone.
These salt and pepper shakers and pilgrim statues were among the latest treasures taken home with us— just in time to add them to our Thanksgiving table. 
Sometimes they write complete stories. 
(some of them are suspense thrillers) 
Sometimes they use the books like you would use a sketchbook, and doodle on each page. 
And every time I cut into one I think to myself, "Someday, I'm going to give this cabbage the props it deserves." I dream of painting, drawing, knitting or interpreting in silver this boldly contrasting composition. I'm working up to that, but this weekend we did do a little experimenting with the color.
I boiled the cabbage for about a half hour, allowing all the pigment to leach out and boil down to a slightly thicker liquid. The result was this inky, deep purple dye.
We soaked some cotton string and fabric scraps in the dye and they dried this gorgeous amethyst color. The girls have big plans for me to knit stuffed animal hats with this string, and make clothes for their soft friends with the fabric. We shall see...
A half-dozen eggs, paired with the 2 we had in our fridge soon yielded those mouth-watering 
A big thank you to all the chickens out there who are not molting!
